Teachers status subject of school board meeting

Published: August 26, 2003 8:00 PM

The Rolling Hills Board of Education scheduled a special meeting for this morning to discuss the status of teacher Steve Warden, who has been charged with sexual battery as the result of an alleged relationship with a high school student.

Warden, 35, a freshman English teacher at Meadowbrook High School, was charged with sexual battery, a third-degree felony. He allegedly engaged in a sexual relationship with a then-16-year-old girl for approximately six months.

The board was expected to suspend Warden with pay pending the outcome of the case against the former Meadowbrook High School football coach.

The law requires you to suspend, with pay, any teacher who has been charged with a felony until the completion of the litigation, said Rolling Hills Superintendent Gary Norris. He (Warden) will have an opportunity to address the board in executive session prior to the board making its decision.

Norris said he expected the board would not take long to render its decision.

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Warden previously served as head coach of the Colts football program for five years after serving the MHS program as an assistant coach for seven years.

Warden had been working as an assistant coach with the Shenandoah High School football team this season, but Zeps head coach Dan Wesson reported Warden resigned that position this past weekend.

He is no longer affiliated with the program, said Wesson.

Warden appeared in Cambridge Municipal Court Monday for his initial hearing and he was granted a personal recognizance bond. A preliminary hearing for Warden has been scheduled for Sept. 5 at 3:30 p.m.

Guernsey County Sheriffs Detective Sgt. John Davis said he expected the Guernsey County prosecuting attorneys office would present the case to a Common Pleas Court grand jury, at which time additional charges against Warden could be considered.

If convicted of the third-degree felony, Warden is facing a maximum of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.